Wild pitch lets Horns avoid sweep

Updated 9:46 pm, Saturday, May 19, 2012

AUSTIN — After months of taking victories away from the Texas Longhorns, Baylor was finally giving them one.

Bears pitcher Ryan Smith bounced a breaking ball off the turf in the bottom of the eighth Saturday, and catcher Josh Ludy let it skip away, and all UT's Jonathan Walsh had to do was run the last 75 or 80 feet to home plate.

But Walsh couldn't see the ball. Then he wasn't sure if it was far enough away. So as 6,475 fans at Disch-Falk Field screamed, he danced back and forth, doing what Longhorns coach Augie Garrido called “the Cotton-Eyed Joe between third and home.”

“Oh (shoot),” Garrido said of his thoughts as he watched the play. “What is he doing?”

Walsh finally did slide home just ahead of Smith's tag, enabling the No. 21 Longhorns to beat No. 7 Baylor 2-1, salvage the final game of a three-game series and win their regular-season finale.

It marked the first time in 2011-12 that UT won a game against Baylor in any of the four biggest sports (football, men's basketball, women's basketball and baseball) after seven consecutive defeats.

And if Walsh hadn't ultimately decided to run home, the streak might not have ended at all. Laughing about Garrido's description of the play and referring himself as “just a good dancer,” Walsh — who had doubled to lead off the eighth — said he ultimately had to commit to it.

“I just took off,” he said. “I knew I could get there, and thank God I did.”

Baylor (42-12, 20-4 in the Big 12) had a chance to tie it in the ninth, and looked to be in great position to do so after Adam Toth doubled to lead off the inning. When the next batter, Nathan Orf, flied out to medium-depth right field, Toth tagged up and raced for third.

Only a strong, accurate throw from right fielder Mark Payton could have beat him to the base. And a strong, accurate throw is what Payton unleashed, nipping Toth at the bag and squelching the rally.

“I knew that was going to be a big run for them,” Payton said. “I just tried to stay behind it and let it loose.”

Said Garrido: “Our whole season was riding on that throw,” adding that if the Longhorns (30-20, 14-10) had lost, their hopes of securing an NCAA tournament bid would have been in peril. But thanks to Walsh's run, Payton's throw, 41/3 shutout innings of relief from Hoby Milner (7-4) and four double plays, the Longhorns should be in good shape.

Only next week's Big 12 tournament stands before the NCAA tournament field is chosen.

“This game probably meant (the difference) in being in the regional, or not being in the regional,” Garrido said.